NSF programs are dedicated to increasing the opportunities for all students to learn mathematics and science, prepare for higher education, complete degrees in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology fields, join the workforce as competent and contributing members, and become well-informed, science-literate citizens of the United States. Such participation, from education to employment to life-long learning, is NSF’s vision of human resource development in the national interest.

NSF fosters the natural connections between learning and discovery. When research resides alongside education and training, the rewards of discovery are shared more quickly and disseminated more widely. Support for education and training includes most activities funded through the Education and Human Resources appropriation, as well as those programs funded through the Research and Related Activities appropriation that aim to accomplish education and training through the tie to research programs. While focused on research, much of NSF’s investment in Research Project Support is, at the same time, an investment in education and training, particularly through support for research activities by undergraduate and graduate students, research at undergraduate institutions, and furthering the careers of young investigators. Education is, in fact, an integral component of all research projects in that the skills and training needed for the next generation of scientists, engineers, and technologists are provided within the context of the research experience.

PreK-12

The goal of NSF's programs at the PreK-12 level is for all students to succeed in mathematics, science, and technology. To accomplish this goal, NSF programs are directed primarily at systemic reform, teachers, and instructional materials. NSF's systemic reform efforts aim to make lasting improvements in science, mathematics, and technology education at the state level, in urban centers, and in rural regions. The systemic approach involves broad partnerships in the development of goals, solutions, and actions. Teacher enhancement and teacher preparation programs strengthen teachers' knowledge and pedagogical skills and create a network of teachers who are better able to foster reform. The instructional materials development program supports development of comprehensive curricula, supplemental materials, and assessments that are aligned with science and mathematics standards.

The FY 1999 Request for PreK-12 programs is $429 million, an increase of about $54 million above the FY 1998 Estimate. In FY 1999, support will focus on the following activities:

• expanding systemic reform, particularly the urban systemic initiatives (USI) and statewide systemic initiatives (SSI);
• developing standards-based, validated instructional materials, including the incorporation of learning technologies;
• developing a teacher workforce capable of delivering standards-based mathematics and science education;
• developing standards-based student performance assessments;
• training teachers on effective use of education and training technologies;
• conducting research on educationally relevant technologies;
• developing new forms of educational software, content, and technology-enabled pedagogy;
• conducting research on implementation of learning technologies in the classroom; and
• conducting research on cognition and learning.

Undergraduate

NSF's programs support many facets of undergraduate education, including curriculum, laboratory, and instructional practice, as well as preparation of the technological and K-12 instructional workforce. In order to improve the quality of undergraduate courses and curricula in the sciences, NSF provides funds to encourage the development of multi- and interdisciplinary courses as well as to encourage science, mathematics, and engineering faculty members to work collaboratively with schools of education in order to enhance the ability of prospective teachers to deliver standards-based K-12 education.

NSF programs that address undergraduate needs include:

• Advanced technological education projects which focus on meeting the demands of the competitive, technology-based workplace by targeting technician education programs at the undergraduate and secondary school levels in advanced technology fields;
• Course, curriculum, and laboratory improvement projects which focus on institution-wide implementation of quality instruction in classrooms and laboratories;
• Alliances for Minority Participation, which support comprehensive approaches to increase the quantity and quality of underrepresented minorities who successfully earn science and engineering baccalaureate degrees, and the number who go on for graduate study in these fields; and,
• Engineering Education Reform, which stimulates innovative and comprehensive models for systemic reform of undergraduate engineering education and aims to increase the retention of students.

Graduate/Postdoctoral

NSF's graduate education programs are designed to improve the human resource base for science and engineering in the U. S. and to increase the participation of scientists and engineers from groups that are underrepresented in advanced levels of science, mathematics, and engineering.

Graduate and postdoctoral programs will total $132 million in FY 1999, an increase of $12 million over FY 1998. In FY 1999, NSF will continue the Foundation-wide Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training (IGERT) program begun in FY 1998. Support will increase about $7 million to a total of $28 million. IGERT reflects a shift in strategy from a more diffuse support of graduate education through research grants to a focused effort designed to respond to the growing need for researchers and faculty educated beyond the boundaries of a single discipline.

Other graduate funding increases include the Graduate Research Fellowship program, particularly to support an increase in the institutional cost-of-education allowance. Other increases include collaboration between the Mathematical and Physical Sciences and Education and Human Resources Activities to support Vertically Integrated Grants for Research and Education in the Mathematical Sciences program, aimed at achieving systemic reform of graduate and undergraduate mathematical sciences. The science, mathematics, engineering, and technology education postdoctoral program for production of K-12 and undergraduate level professionals, initiated in FY 1997, will be sustained. Other support for graduate student and postdoctoral research activities provided through research grants are included under Research Project Support.

Other Support for Education and Training

NSF supports programs to promote public understanding of science, mathematics, engineering, and technology (SMET), including the collection, analysis, and dissemination of data on U.S. and international resources devoted to science, engineering, and technology. The FY 1999 Budget Request for these activities is $26 million, an increase of $2 million over FY 1998. In FY 1999, increased support will focus on expanding applications of technology that promote scientific literacy and disseminating findings from NSF-supported research. NSF will also provide increased support to develop a new survey of science, engineering and technological innovation, a longitudinal study of science and engineering graduate students, and continued implementation of an international science and technology indicators network.

Examples of accomplishments resulting from Education and Training support include:

• Informal Science Education. As part of NSF’s effort to encourage young people to select and pursue careers in the sciences, and to encourage life-long learning, NSF has supported a number of outreach activities designed to stimulate interest in science and mathematics. Among its most successful funded projects is A Science Odyssey, a recently acclaimed Public Broadcasting System television series developed over the last five years to expand public understanding of the nature of science in the 20^th century. The Odyssey television series is a voyage of discovery that reveals mysteries of outer space and the natural world, as well as human inventions and ideas that impact our lives. The success of the series is based on its delivery of high-quality content to a nation-wide audience.

• The comprehensive science and mathematics curricula, grades K-12, supported by NSF through the Instructional Materials Development program in the early-to-mid 1990s, are beginning to have an impact on the textbook market. The new elementary mathematics curricula are being used by more than 1,500,000 students in over 60,000 classrooms. Under these challenging curricula, student performance data from standardized field tests (e.g., Ability to Do Quantitative Thinking Test, Essential Skills Mathematics portion of the Michigan Education Assessment Program) show a variety of positive results, including significant gains in student achievement in mathematics and reading for all students, as well as better performance in statistics and other subject areas not in the traditional curricula. Full Option Science System (FOSS), an inquiry-based science curriculum, has captured 20 percent of the market for grades K-6 science.

• Local Systemic Change (LSC) projects reform science and mathematics education in entire school systems through teacher professional development linked with implementation of exemplary instructional materials. In grades 7-12, LSC scales-up field-test sites of NSF-supported instructional materials that have been successful in increasing both student interest in mathematics and achievement on national tests. In southwestern Michigan, for example, 15 high schools are implementing the Core-Plus Mathematics Project (CPMP). First year CPMP students have shown growth significantly greater than both the national 9^th grade norm on the Ability to Do Quantitative Thinking Test and a control group of peers. Moreover, 11^th grade teachers reported that 50 percent of CPMP-enrolled students would normally not have taken 3^rd year mathematics.

• The Third International Mathematics and Science Survey (TIMSS), jointly developed and supported by NSF and the Department of Education, has advanced understanding of science and mathematics student performance internationally. For the U.S., it has shown erosion of student achievement between grades 4 and 8. An accompanying NSF-supported analysis of international curricula helps explain the differences in country performance. For example, TIMSS has shown that simple policies (e.g., increasing length of school year, reducing class size, increasing homework) are unlikely to improve student achievement; that U.S. classrooms and textbooks lack focus; and that technology, if not embedded in a strong curriculum, is ineffective.

• Promoting partnerships of two- and four-year institutions, secondary schools, and business, the NSF Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program strengthens science and mathematics preparation of students entering the high technology workplace. In FY 1997, six ATE Centers – focused on critical technology areas – involved 450 community colleges, 50 four-year institutions, 1,000 businesses and industries, as well as numerous small and medium sized firms. Among them, the Northwest Center for Emerging Technologies at Bellevue Community College in Washington is revising information technology programs in response to emerging job needs with substantial investments by regional industry (e.g., Microsoft, Boeing). Over the next five years, the Center will improve the education of 5,000 college and 2,700 high school students as well as the preparation of 350 technology faculty and high school teachers.

• The Alliances for Minority Participation (AMP) program supports 27 institutional collaborations intended to increase substantially the quantity and achievement of underrepresented students receiving baccalaureate and graduate degrees in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology. The most mature projects awarded in FY 1991, enrolled 52,116 students from underrepresented groups in FY 1995, an increase of 32 percent over four years. By comparison, national enrollment increased 37 percent from 1980-93, and 8 percent from 1991 to 1993. In 1995, AMP institutions awarded 14,565 bachelor’s degrees in science, mathematics, and engineering, nearly 25 percent of the total awarded to African-Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans.

• From 1993-1996, the Graduate Research Traineeship (GRT) program supported 926 Ph.D. candidates across all NSF-supported disciplines. Of those trainees, 37 percent were female and 29 percent were from traditionally underrepresented groups. Research products attest to the quality of their education. For example, over the three years reported, trainees wrote or co-authored 452 journal articles, 11 books, and 55 book chapters; made 973 presentations; obtained 12 patents; and received 430 other academic awards.

• In response to an NSF workshop on Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Education and Training, NSF made several competitive, experimental awards to universities in Illinois, Missouri, Texas and Connecticut in FY 1997 aimed at reinvigorating the Master’s Degree program. These awards place a strong emphasis on industrial interaction and the integration of research with the educational experience of M.S. students in Materials Science and related areas of science and engineering. An important goal of the program is to enable students to prepare for careers that may include non-traditional roles in communication, business, leadership, ethics, teamwork, and mentoring.

• In FY 1997, Science Resources Studies, NSF’s statistical arm, helped the Office of Management and Budget set up the FEDSTATS web site. The FEDSTATS site, well received in news stories and internet media, helps guide users to statistics on-line from more than 70 federal agencies, giving the public the statistical information they need for personal and business use. More than 170,000 visitors made over 300,000 visits to FEDSTATS in the first 4 months.

• In the Teachers Experiencing the Antarctic/Arctic (TEA) program, high school teachers travel to Antarctica or the Arctic for several weeks to team up with researchers in the field. Prior to going into the field, the teachers visit the polar researchers at their home universities for training on specific research projects. The TEA participants spend approximately 4-8 weeks in the field on a wide range of studies. For example, one teacher rode an icebreaker exploring the deglaciation history of Antarctica’s Ross Sea, while another monitored stream flow at a Long-Term Ecological Research site in the Transantarctic Mountains. The teachers keep electronic journals of their experiences and answer students’ e-mail questions. Upon returning home, the TEA teachers work with their school districts to bring Antarctica and the Arctic into the classroom. Funding for TEA is a collaborative effort within NSF and reflects the strong commitment to the integration of science education and research.

• The Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program provides opportunities for undergraduate students to experience hands-on participation in research or related scholarly activities in areas of science, mathematics, and engineering. NSF supports researchers who involve students in either ongoing research (REU supplements) or special programs (REU sites). NSF’s investment in FY 1997 was approximately $30 million and supported nearly 300 sites across all 50 states. For example, at an REU site at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, undergraduates gain research experience spotlighting high-latitude chemical and biochemical components of environmental and ecological studies. Research includes environmental chemistry, molecular evolution, bioinorganic chemistry, molecular biology of marine organisms, and atmospheric chemistry. Alaskan students can then exchange perspectives with students from the lower 48.